Google just revealed a tiny HDMI dongle that connects to your plain old, non-smart TV, letting you send YouTube videos, Netflix movies, Pandora music and other content from the Internet to the television, all controlled by a phone, tablet or laptop.

The controlling device doesn't stream the content to the TV, which would drain the battery. Instead, you use your phone or other gadget to tell YouTube and other Internet content providers what to play on the node, called Chromecast. It's not just limited to Android, either — it'll works with the iPhone YouTube app, and via the Chrome Web browser.

And the link verified that it'd work exactly as I expect: it connects to your internal wifi, pulls power from the TV, and takes commands from devices on the local network. Sounds like a useful little tool.